Draft-rigging mechanism.



G. H. FORSYTH.

DRAFT RIGGINGMECHANSM.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 23` 1904.

3 SHEETS--SHET l.

G. H. FOSYH.

nam mesma MscHANxsM.

APPLICAYJON FLED {58.23.1904. Y v 1,187,961 Patented May 4, 1910.

3 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

G. Hi FOHSYTH.

DRAFT RGGING MECHANISM.

APPUCATIQN mn 18.23. i9044 1,137,961 Patented May 4, 1915Y .To, all whom 'it may concern UNTED STATES PATNT GFFICE.A

GEORGE E. FORSYTH, QF CHICAGO, ILLNQIS, SSIGNOR. BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 WAUGH DRAFT GEAR COMPANY, A CORPORATION 0F ILLINOIS.

DRA T-RIGGING MECHAN ISM.

Be it known that I, GEORGE H.. FonsY'rH, av'citizen of the'United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Ilinois,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft-Rigging Mechanism, of which the following is a specification. v

My invention relates to draft rigging mechanism for railway cars; and in the rincipal embodiments thereof contemplated o y me pertains to that class or type of draft riggingA mechanism wherein an angularly movable draw-bar is provided with truckaetuated means for controlling the sidewise movement-.of the drawbar, the object being tomaintain the-draW-bar in a favorable powhether 'strai ht or curved.

Heretoforeit has been the practice in railway cars, particularly freight cars, to allow but a, very'limited and' insuiiicient, amount `s ,ition for coupling on all kinds of track,

r'ofqside clearance to the draw-bars for the i purposewo goingaround curves. Recentl however, itfliasv become evident, especial y with the tendency to employ cars of greater length,` to substantially. increase 'the amount Y offside clearance lallowed the draw-bars of instead of pulling atan angle vto eachother. Whilethis increased side clearance with the consequent freedom of angular movementl that it allows the drawbar has been emif.

Specication of Letters `.'netent.

.- nently satisfactory under strains of draft, it" has brought about correspondingly greater danger of injury to l:the draw-bars and the cars under 'buingshocks; for it must be evident 'that'fwi'th the greater freedom vof side movement, the draw-bars under shocks """of butling 'might be4 kthrust vwith a correspondinglygreater violence to one side and assumes-,even 'a sharp'erangle than was formerly possible when they were held substantially rigid. laterally. Inorder to avoid the' 'danger-.of the draw-bars acting toward each otherlike; the-members'o ahingeunder the shocks of'buiiing I have provided in my invention a means whereby not'only are the draw-bars prevented from thus forming 'with each othern more acute Aangle than they havehitherto done when lyin substantially on the longitudinal centers `o their respective cars; but they are maintained in substantiallythe same relative position to each other during buing as under draft.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved means for4 automatically throwing 'the ldraw-bar to a positlon coincident with the line of draft'whenp l Y Patented Mayfi, 1915.

y Application led February 23, 1904. Serial No. 194,889.

ever a relative angular Amovement takes l place between the 'truck and the car-body.'

A minor' object of the` invention is to provide a nevel draw-barl controlling means which shall have the additional function of partially su porting the weight of the drawL if bar and to t at extent lessemng friction and wear between the draw-bar and the'A Ausual hanger or other support. i'

Still other minor objects havingnin` I bodiment of the invention shown' inthefae companyingdrawings'whereinf# 'Y y Figure 1 1s a top plan view of'a'fo'rmof draft rigging mechanism' embodying the` rincipleof my invention whereinthe draw# ar is pivoted to the front end of the draft i i rigging proper, nd the mechanismisapl' plied between channel-bar center-sills; 'Fig'.

2 is a front elevational view of oneof'the followers illustrating A'means incorporate therewith for preventing lateral movemen sectional views on the lines 9-9 andu 104.510,. respectively, of Fig. 1, 'viewed in the diree'- l tions indicatedA by the arrows; Fig.v fisa" broken detail View illustrating imlif'ieclif'`v means for guiding the yoke of the draft rivl Fig. 6 is a cross-sectionafview on' t e line' 12-12 of Fig. 6; Fig. 7 is an end-view f illustrating a modiiicationof the drauf-br eine;

controlling mechanism; Fig. 8 Yis affini;-

mentary side elevational view ofthe pnrtsf 'shown in Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is'a detail cross-K' 'sectional view onthelline 15--15 of'l1`i'g., 7; Fig. '10 isl a front elevational `view of apro;`

ferredform of draw-bar saddle hnvingu ciated therewith means for rendering tile' truck connection extensible in both",direc;v

tions; Fig.' 11 is a side elevational view partly lin Vcross-section taken on the lineA 17-1'7 of- Fig. 10; Fig-'l2 is a lu'niz'oiital"1*".v sectional view on the line 18-18 of l Eg. l0;

Fig. 13 is across-sectional view similar. to

l ploying this construction, I .preferably pro- Fig. 4, illustrating the mechanism employed where the guides for Athe drawbar actuating chains are located on the sides of the centersills; Fig. 14 is a side elevational View of Fig. 13; Fg. l5 is a side elevational view of the parts S own in Fig. 4 but with a slight modification of the means for preventing endwise movement of the hanger; Fig. 16 illustrates the formation of the end portion of the hanger.V employed in the construction illustrated in Fig. 1.5; Fig. 17 1s a detail plan view showing a wear-plate between the end of the pivoted draw-bar and the front fol. lower of the draft rigging; Fig. 18 is a longitudinal sectional view through Fig. 17 with the draw-bar shown in side elevation; Fig. 19 is a view similar to Fig. 17 showing an anti-friction member substituted for the wear-plate; Fig. 2O is a detail view of the draw-bar showing a pivoted saddle and hanger engaging guide coperating therewith; and Fig. 21 is a bottom plan-view of the parts shown in Fig. 20.

My improved dlawbar controlling mechanism which, in itspreferred and'theoretically perfect form, is designed to impart to he draw-bar a sidewise swing wherever there occurs a relative angular movement between the truck and the car-body, as on curves of varying degrees of curvature and as on passing from straight to curved track and vice versa, so as to not merely maintain l the draw-bar constantly at right angles to. the truck-bolster but-to give it an angular lead over such a position so as to maintain'it coincident with the line of draft, may be seen inone of its forms inFigs. 1 to 3, wherein the draw-bar is located between metal beams and is capable of a relative'angular movement to the draft rigging. Ihe channel-beams are shown at 48, the draw-bar at 49, the same being pivoted at 50 to the front end of the draft rigging, which may. com'- prise the usual yoke 51, spring 52, -followers 53 and the follower-stops 54. When em- Vvidebetween the front transverse support 55 `for the draw-bar and its pivotal connection `to the draft rigging an intermediate or auxiliary support consisting of a hanger 56; and on this hanger I preferably mount the intermediate draw-bar guiding or engaging elements of the draw-bar controlling mechanism.

In the form of this mechanism illustrated in Figs. 4; 10, 11, and 12, I employ an extensionable member in the nature of a sprin 57 which coperateswiththe chains to e ect the lateral swing of thedraw-bar through the following mechanism: 5S is a Ushaped' saddleseated on the hanger 56, having vcry tically-extending parts lying on either side of the draw-bar respectively. On the bot- -tom of the-saddle is hung a casing having parallel depending side walls 59, the inner faces of which are cut out to provide guideways 59a and end shoulders 59", for a pair of followers 60. EachV of the followersois apertured at its four corners, as shown in Fig. 11, and through one pair of diagonally- 7o opposite holes of each follower is passed a U-shaped rod 61 connected at one end out side of the follower' by a clevis 62, and at the other end passing through the corresponding holes in the other follower and terminating in nuts 63. Between the rods and Yfollowers thus assembled is disposed the spring 57, and to each of the clevises 62 is connected the adjacent end of the chain 42. The draw-bar 49 lies directly on the upper 80 horizontal part of the spring casing. It will thus be seen that the spring 57 furnishes the required extensibility of the flexible connection between the draw-bar and the truck when the draw-bar is swung to either side of its normal' or central position. It will also be evident that when the draw-bar is swung laterally through theinstrumentality of the chains 42 there will be a-tendency to raise the side walls 59 and through them the 90 draw-bar 49, thereby lessening the friction between the saddle 58 and the hanger 56. l/Vhen -employing this construction the bracket-s 64 carrying-'the guide-pulleysmay be secured to the under Iside of the lower flanges of thechannels, and maybe provided with openings 56x to accommodate the end portions 56a of the hanger 56, whereby the latter are lsupported and confined by the' brackets. The extremities of the end portions of the hanger may be bent upwardly, as shown at 56", against the .edges of the channel-beam flanges to prevent endwise m'ovement of the hanger. An alternativeof this latter construction, as shown iii-Figs. 15 and 16, may consist in makingv the endvv portions 56*1 of the hanger slightly narrower than the intermediateportion, therebyzp'roviding on either vside thereof shoulders 56 which abut against vertical members 64"".110`

of the pulley-bracket that confine edgewise A the end portion 56a of the hanger. VVhei-e it is not desired to employA the' single spring extensionable device last de.-

-scribed, a draw-bar engaging saddle alone '1-"15 may be used, such as is shownat 65 in Figs.v

7 land 9, in which case the saddle will have on one end thereof a depending lilp 65a over,

.lying one edge ofthe hanger, and a dependmg arm 66 overlying theother edge con-"129l taining an eye 66el to which'the chains may be attached. This, construction ,of`

draw-bar guide is herein'illustrated'in conf? nection with a -straight.hanger -67 fastened .v

directly to the lower flanges of the ehanneli beams, as shownat 68, and having project-- -ing end portions v67a adapted to receive pnl-p ley-brackets 69 which may be confined there-f on by set-screws 70.

Where the draw-bar is located higher api-13.2 l

Willey-suppmixing pulleys in p the 'plans ilu; aitaclixrifcnts ille or.: to increase the liiing 1 Empa srl tiis primi-isi' sonnf lire pulley 'upon lis Lira-.w-

i'si'srrsfi to. ils?. draw-lim* is pivote-s i@ from @mi :if the flmft rigging, i; bec-.swag ziclvissble sttsr te prsven undue siewisv: swirls; arial movement nf tlis draf?, rigging along with Fris drawlrar. The simplest, clieapes and 'preferracl malins m accomplishing this consists is the prvisicm of vert-ical lugs shown fat 53 on the upper mil lswer @ges of is followers 53, l and il, these 'ings serving' to lscsly @malins the upper and lower nswctirins of the fruire against ls'srl move-ment. ilie ltr, however, eiripioj; the Constric-ion illus-ratecl in Figs. 6, wherein mi aclclillimml hanger is applied to the lclwsr anges of he beams subsifmtially centrally beneath the draft rigging, with s transverse liar 75 also Secura-l between the. inner faces of the sills above the draft rigging and preferably in the. sam@ vertical plane as the hanger 74. inversely is'posed U-sliafped guides 76 and. 77 are. se-j nurerl. to the upper sind lower: faces of hef Where. the draw-imi' pirated te the from Y and si? the folie. in liemeerred form ,of

z my invention illustrated in Fig. 1f 1l; is

.desirable to provide moans for Wiilistau'ifn-gf 'the weer @consistir by the rub of thi; iriiie-r slid of the draw-liar in its swinging move nts and also i0 relieve as fr as possible tiisrsl'irough. For fai-mmpiirposs l iisert between the rewind-n end oitlle draw-bar and the front face 'sfilis front follower i curved Wear-piste TSisliown in Figs. l? and 18, which Wear ,rjl'lle may be mail@ of hardened steel er simu ilzir wear-resisting material, and which will hure upper and lower lugs 783 its @nds siifjziging the sides of the. yoke ts iis-ld it pracisally rigid with the yokeancl prevent As a mscimnical equivalent forV lsisrai ilisplacsmen. thereof. Insiemi of such s, weiirplste I insert bsiwseii the and! of che draw-bur smi froii; face of ibs follmrer :i rertiszilvdispassd rolls? 79 Figs l which roller may bs coiiined 79 {smstlalersl displncemsixi by @concave mi SQ lisreior formali in lle roimcled or rij'sxefl miel of the draw-bar. For the viii-po mi' relieving ille giros-'pin to scm@ mi the imnsverss strain, prserably l( m 'the inner enel ci' draw-'br of inlisiflit so as to prrie im' the iorriistiim 0i roimde slrulders 81 (Fig. 18) ilisrenn, "-.xliicli shoulders are engage-Ci by inwsrclljwsxtending flanges Q31 ,the imer and of lie yoke, These {laliges may bs made roui'zlerl to 5i', lie rounded simiiiers 81 'iirwglnm. as shown :1t-

in Figs. and i8. or liiey msy be mail@ straight., ss shown. :it in Fig. l; elle latter form being :35 Ydissiper limi lsssisr lio innige.

Figs. 20 am?, 221 illusrats a slight mcdicniion (if the rawf'bsr'guide. mechanism shown in Figs. i0 and 1,1 adapted to facilitate lie angular mmfemsnt of the' draw-bar consistently with the linear transverse travel o? ille drnw-l'mrf'gsilile on its supporting hanger. ly sreue to these, figures, Wliiah are resmctvelr siii@ elevstional and bstcm plan 'views of @aparts igmdixtely enga-ging the. druwln1x1p the liafisr. it will be seen tl; at the Uslisif, kssmslfir 58a has its ver-tiral lugs ehgngif' lu. .of tlm draw-bar. while iis horizontal or Mans-fraisse member is provided 'wili rmiiideci or cmivexed edges 58, outside of which lst-ter lis the u )per portions of ilse (le-pending Casin p tes 59. The hm'i'zontsl inbermsdiats p ates of thesis?? membersmay dr muy noi; lie pivotally coni rescued by a. pivo'bpin Si. This construction 105 permits the required angular swing of the immediate draw-bar engagingmember 58 with the draw-bar while al: the same time transmit-ting to the hungeengaging meinber 'a travel over the hanger as -the drfl-w- 110 bar swings laterally, with :i minimum' of frlrtirimid wear between. the pari-s.

lylllle l have shown my invenion as sppicl to :i draft rigging mechanism in which The resistance medium .is supplied by a. sin- 116 glslspring, it must be evident thatmy inwnin. is equally applicable to :my suitable construction of draft rigging mechanism no millier wlmi; be the nature of the resistance medium therefor, wlielier same consists of 126 :i plurality of .springsl spring-plates, friciioii elements or other suitable. cmponent members. 5

The msans which i have shown for accomplishing the heieinaloove described con- 125 trol of the draw-bar is supported by the carbdy and actuated by the truck; but I desire it, to be clearly urilerstod that I do notl limitmy invention to these. features of construution amil operzitimi. rior to the particu- 130 1. :In a draft mechanism, the combinationof a draft gear, a draw bar pivoted to the draft gear, and a connection between thetruck and the draw bar' in advance. of the gear and serving to impart to the draw bar an angular movementA to maintain the same Substantially in the line of draft on a curve.

2. In a. draft mechanism, the combination of a draft gear, means to hold the same against a lateral movement, a draw bar pivvoted to the draft gear and means connecting the truck and draft bar in advance of the pivot to `maintain the draw bar in the line of draft on a curve.

3. In a draft mechanism, the combination of a draft gear, means to hold the samev against a lateral movement, a draw bar pivoted 'to the draft gear, and means connected tothe truck and to the draw bar in advance of thepivot and serving to impart to the draw bar independent of the gear an increased angular movement relative to the car body over the angular movement occurring between the latter and the truck.

4. In a draft mechanism, the combination of a draft gear, means to hold the same against lateralmovement, a draw bar pivoted tothe draft gear, and :means connected to the truck and to the draw bar in advance of the pivot and serving to impart to the draw bar independent of the gear an increased angular movement relative to the car body over the angular movement occurring between the latter and the truck, sai" connection exerting a lifting action on the draw bar.

5. In a draft mechanism, the combination of a draft gear, means tio/hold the same against lateral movement, a draw bar pivoted to the draft gear, and a yielding flexible connection between the truck and the draw bar in advance of the pivot, said connection serving to impart to the draw bar an increased angular movement relative to thecar body over angular movement occurring between tlie latter and the truck.

GEORGE H. FORSYTH.

Witnesses: I

FREDERICK C. GOODWIN, W. R. LITZENBERG. 

